Abstract:

Emerging technology systems are having a broad and deep impact on the entire business community， and have also become a potential driving force for technology applications and technological innovation related to the retail industry. The retail industry often introduces emerging technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence to promote innovation and change in the industry， and technology providers also focus on providing differentiated technology solutions to meet the specific needs and technology application scenarios of retailers. However， not all enterprises are suitable for directly introducing new technologies， and adoption timing is crucial to the survival and development of enterprises. There are two important problems to solve： （1） Given the incentive to introduce emerging technologies， what strategies should competitive retailers choose to maximize their respective profits？ Are emerging technologies introduced at the same time as competitors or introduced sequentially？ （2） When retailers introduce emerging technologies sequentially， due to the existence of differentiated technology solutions from technology providers， what technology supply strategies do retailers that introduce emerging technologies first and those that introduce them later expect technology providers to provide for them respectively？ A dynamic multi-stage supply chain model including technology provider and two competitive retailers is constructed， exploring the strategic choice of technology introduction for retailers and the impact of technology provider's coping strategies on retailers' decision-making results. It is found that a long period of monopoly period can stimulate retailers to introduce new technology， and lower the technical service fee will encourage the latter to enter the market ahead of time， it has an incentive to shift strategic choices and introduce emerging technologies together with competitors. The technical service fee acts as a "management lever" that can strengthen or weaken the retailer's alliance. Under certain conditions， the technology provider can satisfy the strategic needs of both the former and the latter. Moreover， the span of the monopoly period acts as a “Time lever” that enables technology providers to achieve their profit maximization while encouraging retailers to choose different strategies.

Key words: retailers, timing of technology introduction, monopoly period, homogeneous technical service